An alkaline storage battery, such as a nickel-cadmium or a nickel-hydrogen battery, requires a separator having good chemical stability against the electrolyte, good mechanical strength, good wettability in the electrolyte, good electrolyte retention, good gas permeability through the separator, good electrolyte reservoir capability, and a high melting point. A separator having all of the desired properties was presently not available prior to Ser. No. 914,461.
A woven Zircar mixed oxide cloth (zirconium oxide-yttrium oxide mixture) produced by Zircar Products Inc. of Fla., New York showed promise as a candidate material for use as battery separators. However, the cloth is extremely fragile and exhibits very poor mechanical strength. Other inorganic cloths exhibit similar advantages and disadvantages.